Joseph Woods Adair (1877 – November 1, 1960) was a politician in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada, a municipal councillor in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, and a candidate for election to the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. Since 2012 the Legislative Assembly has had 87 members, elected first past the post f ...

Biography

Joseph Adair was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 1877. He apprenticed as a printer in Glasgow and came to Canada in 1899. He worked for newspapers in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

before settling in Edmonton in 1906 to work for Frank Oliver's

Edmonton Bulletin The ''Edmonton Bulletin'' was a newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta, published from 1880 until January 20, 1951. It was founded by Edmonton pioneer Frank Oliver, a future Liberal politician and cabinet minister in the Canadian Government. Oliver co ...

. He founded his own linotyping business in 1911, which he would operate until his retirement in 1946. He also produced a throwaway sheet called Town Topics. In

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

, he ran for mayor but was defeated handily by

William Thomas Henry William Thomas Henry (January 2, 1871 – March 12, 1952) was a politician, real estate agent and businessman in Alberta, Canada. He served numerous years on Edmonton City Council as an Alderman from 1900 to 1902 and later as mayor from 1914 to ...

. In

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 * ...

he ran once again for

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

, this time as an alderman, but was again defeated, finishing twelfth of fourteen. He would make one more unsuccessful effort at election (running for alderman in

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off th ...

and finishing last of twelve candidates) before being elected in

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...

, finishing first of sixteen candidates. While serving as an alderman, Adair ran for the

in the 1921 election as an independent in the riding of

. He was defeated, placing twelfth of twenty-six candidates. He was re-elected as an alderman at the end of his two-year term in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

, but did not seek re-election in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...

. Instead, he ran for the public school board that election, and finished first of seven candidates. In

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

Adair made his second bid for election as mayor. He finished fifth of six candidates. Attempts to return to office as an alderman would follow in

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

, and

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

. All were unsuccessful, as his best showing was in his last election when he finished eleventh of fourteen candidates. Joseph Adair was known as an outstanding speaker, and was nicknamed "Edmonton's Silver-Tongued Orator". He served on the Library Board and the Exhibition Board for forty years. He and his wife, Dorothy (née Trembley) had two sons and two daughters. Joseph Woods Adair died November 1, 1960.

References

Edmonton Public Library Biography of Joseph AdairCity of Edmonton biography of Joseph AdairReal Estate Weekly biography of Joseph Adair
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adair, Joseph 1877 births 1960 deaths British male journalists Canadian male journalists Edmonton city councillors Independent candidates in Alberta provincial elections Journalists from Alberta Politicians from Glasgow Scottish emigrants to Canada